SACP general secretary Blade has described criticism of the National Minimum Wage rate of R20 per hour as an "opportunistic reaction". In a veiled attack on the SA Federation of Trade Unions’ (Saftu) opposition to the draft legislation, Nzimande called out the federation for "going out on a strike by attacking other worker federations". He was addressing the Cosatu Workers’ Day rally Cosatu’s at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele near Port Elizabeth. Saftu has been critical of Cosatu’s approval of the R20 an hour minimum wage, calling instead for a R12500 monthly rate for affected workers. Cosatu was one of three federations that took part in the negotiations that led to the adoption of the draft policy. "Let’s not react opportunistically on the national minimum wage. We can’t, therefore, say the NMW is going to benefit 6 million workers and say it’s all or nothing," Nzimande said. In the same breath, he called for unity in the labour movement, saying the country needed "broad ...
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